The Sorceress Assassin
by Lupa-for-Life
Summary: AU-Rinoa Heartily has her entire world turned upside down when assassins from the convent of St Mortain murder her parents and kidnap her! They Saw she has a destiny, and that she must train as an assassin in order to fulfill it... (This is a fic from FFVIII into the world of "Grave Mercy" by Robin LaFevers) You dont have to read that book to understand. This story stands alone.
1. Chapter 1

**WELCOME!** This story is a CROSSOVER FIC involving several key aspects of Robin LaFevers amazing novel "Grave Mercy" and i in no way claim to own those ideas i have borrowed, nor do i own the characters from the FFVIII or the world i use here. I make no money from this, it is simply for my own demented pleasure. And i will say that you do not need to have read GRAVE MERCY in order to understand this fic. Please enjoy and REVIEW!

Young thirteen year old Rinoa pulled nervously at the hem of her dress as her mother, the beautiful pianist Julia pulled a brush through her daughter's dark hair. They were getting ready to attend some party or function for her father and his military buddies. Rinoa didn't care much for these kinds of parties. They were never any fun. She always had to sit quietly and feign interest in whatever the grown ups were talking about while her mother drank too much wine and her father focused all his attention on the other generals in the King's army, often leaving Rinoa to her own devices in a room full of political vultures.

When she was younger, maybe eight or nine, this hadn't been much of an issue as Rinoa wouldn't come to these kinds of parties. Or if she did, she was not expected to be seen, but could remain behind the scenes with the other children too young to behave themselves, and their nannies. Her father was the Duke of Deling City, and a high ranking General in the King's army. That's the King of Galbadia, thank you very much. And as such, Rinoa was expected to act like a princess. This was tough for her since all she seemed to do was get in trouble. She had a head filled with stories she made up herself of a princess who ran around in armor and fought mighty beasts to save the prince from the tower. She was forever getting scolded by her mother for tearing a dress or scraping a knee and getting dirty when she should be doing something "lady like".

But as she got older it seemed that this world was one that didn't want her to be her own kind of princess. They wanted a woman who would sit quietly by and not pay attention while the big strong men made all the decisions, and then wanted her to take that same compliancy for a little rubbing between the sheets. Or in any dark secluded place they decided to whip it out. These men disgusted her. She was only thirteen! And a lady, besides. Never mind the fact that she had her fun learning and experimenting with the boys she wasn't so disgusted by. That was different. She could get away from those boys, they went into the situation prepared to force her. Though leading the boys on too far had its own sort of punishment, even though you could get away with your innocence still basically intact. That usually led to some rude name calling later. Rinoa still preferred to be known as the 'tease' rather than the town slut.

Despite all the reasons Rinoa hated these parties, here she was, getting her hair brushed until it shown and her make-up applied by her lady-in-waiting, and gown selected by her fashion expert mother. Rinoa noted that her mother already had a glass of wine in her hand, but chose not to ask if it was her first or not. What did it matter anyway? Rinoa was sure to have her own problems to contend with at the party. As the daughter of a Duke of Galbadia, she was practically destined to face an arranged marriage. Like her parents, who had chosen Julia Heartily for her families wealth and loyalty to the thrown for their son; Rinoa, too would have her suitor chosen carefully since he would one day be the Duke of Galbadia's Deling City.

Even knowing that her chastity meant her honor, the boys still attempted to talk her out of her knickers.

Only one had ever attempted to force himself upon her. She had politely refused his advance when he had come upon her in the chocobo stables one day. HE had grabbed her arm with such force it had bruised and wrenched her into the empty stall behind him. Rinoa had reacted before she could think, the very blood in her veins had seemed to boil and she lashed out in anger, slapping the older boy across the face and she remembered the boys pants suddenly erupting in flames. He had run from her then screeching about witches and sorcery.

That was the night of Rinoa's first beating. Her father had closed the door to his office sealing the two of them alone inside, and had made sure she knew in no uncertain terms that there would be no more unnatural sorcery under his roof. It was as if he were possessed by a demon. That was only a year ago, two weeks before her twelfth birthday.

After her father left her, her mother had run into the room reeking of alcohol and had given her a confusing combination of a loving mother daughter doctoring session that involved a sweet milk laced with poppy for the pain and a terse verbal lashing that left her head spinning.

Her mother kept repeating she should never do that again. _Do what again? _She wondered, _Get_ _mauled by a horny, overbearing boy in a darkened corner_? Surely the freak accident involving his pants catching fire could not seriously be blamed on her? It was true that no one really believed that Rinoa had set the boy's pants on fire using magic. Surely he had just been careless and bumped into a candle or torch or some such. At least, it seemed they didn't blame her. But that didn't stop her father from keeping a sharp eye on her after that. That was also when her mother started drinking heavily.

It was a very long time before Rinoa learned the truth about her powers. It had come slowly over time. Instances where in wanting things bad enough she had somehow brought them to be. Usually at the most inexplicable of times, too. For instance, she remembered once when she had been swimming naked at night in the pond behind her family's estate. A few of her girlfriends had _dared_ her and Rinoa was never one to turn down a challenge. Some boys had found out, or maybe even been tipped off and had snuck up on her in order to try to steal her clothes, leaving her to walk across the open yard and around the chocobo stables naked!

"STOP!" She had shrieked at them. And yet no one was more startled than her when they actually did! They froze in their tracks like statues and moved not so much as a muscle while she scrambled up the bank, blushing from head to toe to snatch her clothes from their hands and pulled the nightdress over her head before fleeing back to the manor. Her aforementioned friends at her mother's country club had laughed for days when they heard that one. They had joked about her being a siren. That was when something clicked in her mind. It was magic.

"There," her mother said, eyeing Rinoa approvingly. "You look absolutely stunning, sweetheart." Rinoa dipped a small curtsey at her reflection and her mother smiled brightly.

"I think we are ready now." Her mothers face grew suddenly somber, and she waved her hands dismissively at the servants still in the room, then waited as they bobbed and left. "Rinoa, how are you feeling?"

Under normal circumstances this wouldn't seem like an odd question, except that is was obvious that Rinoa wasn't feeling ill. But Rinoa knew what her mother was really asking her. She was asking if she was feeling particularly "magical".

Oh yes, there had been a time when Rinoa had run to her mother, trying to understand why her father would beat her for things that couldn't possibly have been her fault. She had always gotten noncommittal answers, usually revolving around her father's stress level and the importance of his image… it was all a crock. Particularly when she would follow that with something along the lines of; _Don't do that ever again. _

Then the time had come when it had all clicked in her head. When she realized that she _had _been the one doing it. When she had finally put all the pieces together and realized what that meant she _was. _A word no one in her house dare use around her parents. Not even in jest, and certainly not in the same breath as Rinoa: _Sorceress. _

She had gone to the church then, eyes rimmed with red from tears of confusion. There just weren't sorceress' around any more. They had all been hunted down during the Sorceress Wars. Adel had been the last, and she was long dead. Killed by the expatriate turned usurper Estharian King. Yet here she was. She had sat in the church and listened to the ringing of the bells. Lost in thought, she studied the faces of the different saints portrayed in the stained glass windows and the small altars that stood before them. There were nine, and in her studies she had learned them all. But right now she was focused on the one in the center. The one at the dead center at the front of the church. It was a statue depicting the Goddess Hyne. Who had passed her powers down to the sorceresses when she was trapped and defeated by the ancient King of Centra.

Filled with a small sense of comfort, she had gone home to see her Lady Mother. Julia Heartily had told her that she must always hide it. "No one would stand for the existence of a sorceress on a royal chair."

Even as she knew what her mother said was true, the look in her eyes as she spoke the words squeezed at Rinoa's heart. Her mother continued on, her eyes flashing dangerously. "A sorceress is inherently, irreparably, insane. The people will hunt you down and destroy you in fear. It wouldn't matter whose daughter you are, or the fact that you had never hurt anyone."

There would be nothing either of her parents could do.

"Fear" her mother had told her, "is the only thing that corrupts a person faster than power." That was why her father had beaten her. Apparently that was the only way he could cope with it, maybe in some sick, twisted way, he thought he could beat it out of her. Luckily, he was away a lot this past year. She always breathed a little easier without the fear of her lord father's ominous presence.

Ever since then, her mother would sometimes ask her how she was "feeling" and Rinoa would know she was asking about more than just her health.

"Perfectly normal, mother." Rinoa forced a smile and her mother looked visibly relieved for just a second before securing her emotions behind her court mask. She turned on her heels gracefully with a flourish of silk and left Rinoa to follow.

This was, after all, a big night for the General. Practically all the important men in Galbadia's army were supposed to be there. They were going to gather in the ballroom on her family's estate and have a grand banquet to dance with pretty ladies and make toasts to each others magnificence.

The whole thing made Rinoa a little sick. Not to mention that parties like this often bored her to the point of allowing her eyes to glaze over and sport fantasies of locking the doors to the building and setting the place on fire…. Then at the last moment when people were just about to start burning, she would of course allow the sprinklers to come on and with a little help from her water magic she would save the day! 'What a terrifying experience!' they would say, 'Thank Hyne that young sorceress girl was there otherwise we'd all have fried!'

Rinoa sighed, it would take some practice to accomplish something like _that_. It was terribly hard to practice magic in secret at the Caraway Manor.

_Or anywhere for that matter._

She followed her mother down the various corridors of the Caraway manor, their servants trailing behind. As they got closer to the ballroom they could hear the sound of music and laughter.

After the sun had begun to set and the party had begun in earnest, Rinoa found herself wishing she was still young enough to go and play with the younger children. Surely thirteen was not too old for such gaiety? She sighed heavily and fingered the velvet curtains hanging to either side of the window she was lurking in front of. She could hear her father talking loudly at the front of the room.

There was a soft tap on her shoulder and she turned, startled, to look into the clear blue eyes of Thomas, a stable boy. He had a way with the chocobos that made him a favorite the other help. Both in her fathers eyes, and Rinoa's own.

He pushed a strand of hair behind Rinoa's ear and leaned forward to whisper something into it, "You haven't been to see me in almost a full week. I miss you."

A delicious shiver shot down Rinoa's spine. Thomas was a master at setting her pulse racing. Unlike other boys, he also never got mad and called her a tease when she would suddenly get shy and not want to go any further than kissing and petting. Thomas was content to kiss her. He called her a princess, even though he knew she wasn't. And she was always sneaking out to the stables to go chocobo riding with him. There was never any pressure from Thomas. He was content to just be her friend, and if that friendship including helping the princess to practice at the womanly arts, then so be it.

Rinoa smiled at the lusty twinkle in his eyes. "What are you thinking that has put that gleam in your eyes?" She asked him with a quirk to her eyebrows.

"I happen to know of a little alcove not more than thirty paces from here that is quite empty and that no one will notice either of us are missing…" Rinoa started to play coy with him, but stopped herself. She _did _want away from these people.

At her nod of consent, Thomas took her hand and led her off in the direction of the coat room. They got in miraculously unnoticed, and Rinoa scoped the room while Thomas secured the door behind them. Inside was lined with rack after rack of fine coats taken off of all the guests here tonight.

In a matter of seconds they were on each other, with all the vigor of their teenage hormones. Thomas was kissing his way down Rinoa's neck when the screaming started.

Rinoa looked at Thomas, confusion plain in both their faces. Rinoa had to squash a snarl of disappointment. She hadn't even got her pulse racing yet…

They poked their heads out of the door into the hallway to a scene of utter chaos. People were running down the hall, panic plain in their eyes, fleeing from the ballroom.

She moved forward on auto pilot, a horrible gut wrenching feeling kept her feet moving one in front of another as the people pushing past her finally cleared out of the way. What she saw, however, stopped her in her tracks. There was her mother, kneeling on the floor keening pitifully over a man lying perfectly still.

A man in a Galbadian General's uniform.

_No!_

Rinoa ran forward and fell to the floor next to her father's body. Her mother was crying in great wracking sobs. Her mascara running in rivers down her pale skin.

She looked into her fathers face and saw something strange. There was a dark shadow on his lips. A dark stain that could not be wiped away, despite how she tried with her dresses sleeve.

"Mother? What is that on father's lips? That dark stain…" she looked at her mother, she had steadied only slightly to look at her daughter. Her eyes flicked to her husband questioningly. "Stain?… Rinoa… I don't see anything…"

"How did this happen? What is going on? Mother, tell me!" She shook her mother a little harder than she meant to, but it got her attention. She looked at her daughter with tears in her eyes and said a single word, "Poison"

But that didn't make sense, either… who would poison her father? Before she could fully consider the fact, or even truly comprehend that her father was dead, a hand clasped around her mouth and wrenched her to her feet. While the other hand placed a knife against her throat.

A few paces in front of her, her mother was also facing a similar attacker. She couldn't see the face, only that it was a slight form that could hide behind her mother's body with ease. And when the pianist fainted in her captors arms, the woman lowered her to the floor and looked at her exposed skin closely enough to be strange.

_These women weren't much older than she was! Sweet Goddess! What was going on?_

But before she could speak, the women examining her mother addressed the one restraining her "She isn't marqued anywhere that I can see. She is alive, just fainted, though it seems she did ingest some of the poison. Her breathing is labored… I don't understand…" She looked up at Rinoa.

As she struggled to rein in her fear, she felt the beginning ripples of anger rising up within her. She grabbed onto it and let it fill her up, chasing away everything else.

She was a daughter of Hyne! These people would not come here and kill her family that easily! If only she knew how to control it.

Rinoa felt her captor start to speak, but she interrupted, "Marqed like on my father's lips?" The words were out before Rinoa could even think to stop them. As far as se knew, the smudge was simply from the poison the had killed him with.

Both women looked at her strangely, as if she had just done something very interesting.

"You can see the marque?" the woman holding her arms whispered into her ear. "How can that be?"

Rinoa wasn't sure what this woman was talking about but as she was deciding what to do she saw a faint dark smudge slowly appear on her mothers throat. The assassins must have noticed her wide eyes because they turned their attention back to her mother.

The two made eye contact briefly and the closer one drew a dagger from inside her skirts.

All at once Rinoa's world slowed down. She had the felt herself reaching for her mother as if both of there lives depended on it. She heard screaming and felt her captor pulling at her arm trying to restrain her from going to her unconscious mother. There was the glint of steel in the sun as the dark haired assassin over her mother slowly brought the knife to her pale throat. Rinoa focused on that long slender dagger and wished the screaming ringing in her ears would stop. It was making it hard to concentrate on whatever she was doing…

Then suddenly the dagger was in her hand, and something blunt struck her in the head, and everything went dark. At least the piercing screams had stopped, it was the last thing she noticed as she floated down into the fog and the blessed silence. That was when she realized the person screaming had been her.

O.o

**A/N:** Thank you for reading the first chapter of THE SORCERESS ASSASSIN! Please feel free to ask me any questions you may have, and point out any mistakes i have made since my Beta didn't have a chance to read this before it was posted.


	2. Chapter 2

**! DISCLAIMER: **I own nothing you recognize.

Welcome back! This is chapter two of my newest fic: The Sorceress Assassin. This is a crossover fic from the book "Grave Mercy" by Robin LaFevers. I truly hope you enjoy, and please REVIEW!

Chapter Two:

Rinoa peeled open her eyes and groaned. She felt as if she had just had a severe beating from her father. She hurt all over, and her head was pounding like she had been struck…

As she focused on the campfire and the two women sitting around it, talking in hushed whispers, it all came violently flooding back to her.

Her parents were dead! The fog on her mind lifted to reveal the images of her mother weeping over her fathers inanimate body. Another of that dark smudge growing on her throat. That dagger, and her own screaming… then darkness.

She had been abducted!

Kidnapped!

But with her parents dead, who exactly did these murderers expect to ransom her to?

She had no uncles to claim her. Her grandparents on both sides were long gone. That had been why it was so important for her to marry well and have lots of little children to carry on her father's name. Whether she liked the idea or not.

She must have made a noise in her musings, because her captors turned from the fire to look at her. They were twins! They both had identical golden hair and tanned skin, and bright intelligent eyes the color of the emeralds in her mother's favorite earrings. They looked like surfer girls, with their thin sinewy bodies and golden skin and hair. They eyed Rinoa silently for a minute or two before Rinoa shifted uncomfortably and one of them stood. She brushed herself off and reached for the pot cooking over their campfire.

Ladling some into a bowl, she took it to the young sorceress with a faint smile.

"Don't be afraid, we aren't going to kill you. Here, you must be hungry." Rinoa accepted the food and watched as the girl moved with a feline grace to take her seat on the ground with her sister.

Rinoa looked into the bowl. Stew, of course, and while it wasn't terribly fancy it smelled wonderful. Rinoa was never one to turn her nose up to good food anyway, she lifted the bowl to her lips and took a long sip savoring the meaty broth and the tender carrots. Her stomach rumbled appreciatively. After seeing the other girls do it, Rinoa used her fingers to grasp a piece of meat, in her hunger and the darkness of this alien campfire she cared very little for appearances.

After the three had cleaned the pot, Rinoa wiped her hands on her skirt and eyed the two girls who had kidnapped her with renewed curiosity. Why had they come to kill her family? Why had they not just killed her? Why kidnap her and feed her? Where were they going? Why, why, why?

"Where are you taking me?" Rinoa decided to start with a simple one.

The one on the left spoke first, "My name is Sanar, and this is my sister, Ryelle. We are from the convent of St. Mortain. We are his handmaidens, but we are here because we are also the seeresses for the convent. We See visions of cruelty and injustice in the world and through us the abbess can know His divine will," Sanar spoke fiercely.

Ryelle picked up where she left off, "We Saw a vision of you, and your parents. Namely, your father, and his selfish betrayal of his King."

Rinoa gasped, _What? Her parents were traitors? ….they never did want her in on any of their political maneuverings… but didn't everyone play the game of thrones that way? _

Sanar continued for her sister, together they made the whole story. They had Seen a vision. One in strange pieces and though it was clear that her parents were traitors of the balance their god served, it was not clear whether or not the daughter was a traitor as well. Mayhap they had seen her for something else entirely. However when they had reported all this to the abbess, she had seen only another target. Panicking, the twins, who as Seers were supposed to stay within the confines of the convent, had taken the mission to kill the Caraway General and his family, so that they could see the daughter themselves.

They posed as maids setting up for the General's dinner party and poisoned the wine in the general's cup. They had seen for themselves the Marque of Death upon his lips even before the poison was in his cup. The mother, upon close inspection, had been revealed to have the marque on her neck, right where one would put the blade of a dagger to slit a traitorous throat.

The twins were amazed to learn that Rinoa could see the marque of their God! Perhaps they had been right to doubt the daughter's demise!

But before Ryelle could strike the mother down, Rinoa had started screaming, and somehow the dagger was suddenly not in Ryelle's hand anymore, but in Rinoa's!

Sanar, though shocked to the core by all that had transpired, wasted no time asking questions and clouted Rinoa firmly behind the ears with the handle of her own dagger. Sending Rinoa spiraling into the darkness.

That was when they heard the sounds of the approaching Chocobo Mounted Police and they knew they had to leave. As one, they knew the girl had to come with them. The abbess would know what needed to be done. And though they knew there would be punishment for the breaking of the rules, they felt they had done the right thing in saving her.

When they were finished with their tale, Rinoa was terribly confused. She knew about the convent dedicated to St Mortain, and the trained assassins who live there. Despite hearing the stories, much of what the girls had said to her didn't make any sense.

"So what you are telling me is, you saw a vision… of me?"

They nodded in unison. "What was I doing in this vision?" she asked.

The twins looked at each other, their golden hair seemed to burn like the campfire behind them, its light flickering in their eyes. "We cannot say," they spoke in tandem.

Rinoa huffed her displeasure and suddenly her head hurt. "Nevermind, then, you are taking me off to your convent to your god of death. For what purpose? Am I truly not going there to die?" Rinoa refused to let her fear show in her eyes, surely these strange girls would see it. After all, these weren't wimpy girls from the convent of St Arduinna, after all, these were Death's handmaidens. Even their Seers were highly skilled assassins. Her parents could attest to that.

"What did my parents do that was so bad they had to die? My father was an evil bastard to be sure, I've no love lost for him. But my mother?" Rinoa held her tears back with all her might. She refused to let so mush as a single tear slip free. "Her only crime was to drink too much… right?" Truth was, her mother had grown distant over the years, and she was not the carefree woman she had remembered from her childhood. Though honestly, Rinoa had always assumed it was the alcohol, and not her mother's own weakening sense of honor.

Sanar and Ryelle looked at each other sadly, then lowered their voices to a whisper, "We cannot tell you the nature of our visions. The convent of Mortain is filled with secrets. But know this, your father would stand to gain much if he convinced the Galbadian King to go to war with Esthar."

"War?" Rinoa was even more confused. There had been peace between the countries for many decades. The sorceress Queen Adel had ruled with fear, and had kept mostly to her own devices, and the Galbadian's were only too happy to leave her to her evil ways. Rinoa had heard whispers around her city that the expatriate usurper Laguna Loire who was now the King of Esthar, would be easy prey if one wanted to invade the richer nation.

But surely this was just boasting? Was it her father who had said that? She couldn't remember… she hadn't really cared for anything beyond the boundaries of Deling City.

But from the look in the twin's eyes as they laid out their single bedroll. That was when Rinoa realized that they must be telling the truth. They couldn't have planned to take her, or they would have brought an extra bed. And also that they meant her no harm, since she was given on of their own to use for herself.

Rinoa laid back in her blankets and looked at the sky and its billions of bright starts twinkling above her. She had never been to the convent of St Mortain, as they discouraged visitors, strongly. One had to be on seriously important business to be permitted to enter. As such, the convent and those inside were shrouded in mystery.

Why were they taking her there? Did they intend to keep her prisoner? Or train her in their dark arts?

That was an interesting thought, Rinoa mused. To have the strength that no man may lay hands on her without her consent? That she had the power to take the lives of those that would practice evil on the innocent? Comforted by the thought that her old boring life was behind her, she drifted back to sleep with the image of her future stretching out before her. She had always dreamed of adventure. Now was her chance to have one!

* * *

The morning light was bright and the air was crisp as Rinoa opened her eyes and stretched. She stood and attempted to brush the filth from her fine silk skirt, but it was in vain, the dress was surely ruined. Travel stained and torn in several places. She sighed, sadly at the loss and looked up to notice the twins Sanar and Ryelle efficiently gathering all their camp gear and stowing it away on the backs of two chocobos she hadn't noticed the night before. Their feathers were as black as ebony and one of them seemed to be giving one of the twins a bit of trouble. He was tossing his head and stamping his large clawed feet in agitation.

Sanar, or Ryelle, whichever, was struggling with the large bird while her sister laughed.

Rinoa, stifling a giggle herself, went over to help.

She sidled up behind the woman and gently took the irritated creatures reins. "Sshh," she cooed to him as she stroked his neck feathers, "Why are you so upset this morning, hmm?"

The bird stilled and cocked his glossy black head at her. The twins stood there in awe as Rinoa calmed the restless creature effortlessly. After a few more mutterings to the chocobo, Sanar nodded to Ryelle who stepped up to finish loading the creature.

Their work complete, they questioned the young sorceress, "How did you do that?" They asked her in unison. "That damn bird has been trouble ever since we nabbed him from your families stables to escape."

"Well," Rinoa smiled at them mischievously, "Maybe he didn't want to leave his home,"

They looked at each other, and laughed. "Perhaps you are right, but you have a way with him that is no less than magic."

Rinoa tried not to let her surprise show on her face. That was such a simple statement, surely they did not truly suspect….

Without further comment, each girl mounted a chocobo, and Ryelle, from the back of the chocobo Rinoa had just soothed, grasped Rinoa's hands and lifted her to a place on the saddle behind her.

"We have to hurry," Sanar said plainly, and put her heels to the chocobo and they were off.

The countryside of Galbadia went by in a blur as Rinoa watched the hills of all she had ever known rush past her to be left behind. She was thrilled with the fantasy she had concocted in her mind of Rinoa the Sorceress Handmaiden of Death. She pictured herself doing all the sneaky things she imagined assassins would do. And pictured all the evil men and women she would be able to purge from the world.

So lost was she, in her fantasy world, that she didn't even notice when they came to a stop. There was a taste of salt in the air, and Rinoa could hear the waves of the sea crashing against the beach very near.

Peering over Ryelle's shoulder, Rinoa was startled to see that they had come all the way to the ocean! They must have come further from Deling City than they realized before stopping to camp for the night. Despite the distance, there it was, the sea! Blessed St Mer, it was beautiful.

And there, just at the edge of the beach, was a boat. Sanar dismounted and began removing their supplies from the back of the large black bird, and a man lowered the gangway to allow her access so she could stow the things on deck.

The boat was large with three masts and a swarm of seamen. Ryelle dismounted and helped Rinoa down so they could help unload as well.

Curiosity won over quickly, "Whose boat is this?"

Ryelle spoke softly, "It doesn't matter, she will take us where we need to go, which is back to the convent, and they wont ask any questions." Ryelle finished removing their gear and turned the bird loose. Sanar, similarly finished, did the same. Rinoa wished them good luck and hoped they wouldn't get eaten. Though wishing for them to make it back home from here seemed too much to ask for.

A whistle from the deck of the boat had her lifting the remains of her skirts and running up the gangway. From the deck of the ship, there was a flurry of activity as they were cast off and set out to sea.

The ship was heading for the continent of Centra, and more specifically, the convent dedicated to Mortain, patron saint of death, and Rinoa's future. Whatever it may be.

* * *

Once the boat dropped them off on the sandy beach, it was in the dead of night. Rinoa had her first glimpse of the convent, shadowed though it was. Her first impression was of an ancient looking structure made of grey stone with walls covered in soft looking green moss that appeared black as ink in the shadows.

The three girls ascended the stairs from the beach and toward the wooden gate where a gard stood with a torch waiting to receive them. Sanar and Ryelle bowed to the gatekeeper who looked both relieved to see them and very scared.

"Sanar, Ryelle! Where in the name of Mortain have you been! You know that it is forbidden for you to-" The older woman cut her eyes dangerously at Rinoa who dropped her eyes to her dirty feet.

"Who the hell is this?"

Sanar stepped forward and whispered something in the old woman's ears. Her eyes grew wide, but she nodded and opened the gates to let them inside.

Once the gates closed behind them, Sanar and Ryelle turned to Rinoa, "We must all go see the abbess. You most of all, for she will be the one to decide if we have done something Mortain wished, or simply broken a sacred rule."

Their voices were somber, and Rinoa found that she was actually afraid. After all, hadn't she been Seen? Surely there wasn't a reason for her to be scared.

The twins led Rinoa through the twisting corridors until they came to a large forbidding wooden door. They motioned for Rinoa to sit and wait on the chair outside the door. Then they knocked and went inside together.

After what felt like an eternity, Rinoa was starting to doze. It had been a very long two days of hard travel and she felt dirty and exhausted down to her bones. Just when she was sure she would fall asleep on the spot, the large wooden doors opened and the twins raced past her without stopping. Not to tell her what happened or offer so much as a single word of encouragement.

Before Rinoa could ponder what that meant for _her_. She was summoned inside to meet the woman who would decide her fate.

Rinoa clutched her fists into her skirts as she approached the simple yet sturdy desk and the woman seated behind it. The room was dark, as it was nearly midnight, and the only light in the room came from the dozen or so candles flickering around the room.

The woman had hair dark as the midnight sky visible through the window in the wall behind her, and that, combined with the woman's plain black dress gave Rinoa the impression of her melting into the shadows.

She did not look up as Rinoa sat down in the simple wooden chair placed in front of the desk.

The woman finished whatever she was writing and, putting her quill down, finally met Rinoa's curious gaze.

It took every ounce of Rinoa's will power not to gasp. The woman was quite beautiful, yes, but the had the most amazing yellow eyes. They held Rinoa captive and she had the most disconcerting feeling the woman could see straight into her with those eyes. She knew she had to be absolutely honest with this woman.

"I am the abbess of this convent, My name is Edea Kramer." She looked at Rinoa and a gentleness seemed to come over her, making Rinoa feel a little more at ease. "Do you know why you are here, child?" She asked, clasping her hands on the desk in front of her.

Rinoa thought for a moment, of all that had happened to lead her to this point. She knew that Sanar and Ryelle had gone to kill her family, that her parents had been traitors. She knew this was the convent of St. Mortain, the patron saint of death, and that the girls had seen Rinoa do certain unexplainable things. That they had taken her with them in their escape. Though the girls hadn't said much about the "why". But was it because they realized Rinoa was a sorceress? That information was highly dangerous to her health…

Edea tapped her long fingernails on her desk as she waited for Rinoa to respond.

"It is because you are a daughter of St Mortain, and you belong here."

Rinoa was to stunned to speak. She felt her mouth gape open as her pulse pounded in her ears. _Impossible! _"I am the daughter of General Caraway of Galbadia's Army, Duke of Deling City and Julia Heartily is my mother! There is no uncertainty in my birth, you must be mistaken." Though even as she said those words aloud, there was another word repeating herself in her mind: _sorceress, sorceress, sorceress. _

"Sanar and Ryelle have told me what they have seen. And more importantly what _you _have seen, child."

"What I have seen?" For a moment Rinoa thought they meant her witnessing of her parents murderers, that they actually brought her all this way to simply kill her.

"Tell me, did you see anything strange about your parents around the time of their death?" The abbess cocked an eyebrow at her.

"You mean that smudge of father's lips? I assumed it was from the poison." Rinoa answered.

"And the same mark on your mothers throat?"

Rinoa looked down at her hands. What sort of poison would leave such a mark?

"That was the mark of St Mortain. It shows us who is traitor and must die. We are simply his hands." She gestured to the walls of the convent and those inside.

Rinoa's eyes widened as she continued. "He uses us to alter the course of fate as He sees fit to His own designs."

She looked at Rinoa then in such a way that the girl had to fight not to squirm under that odd yellow stare. "We also find that He gives his daughters certain gifts, so that they may be better equipped to serve Him." Edea Kramer reached out to the younger girl to take her hand. She closed her eyes for but a moment before widening them and looking Rinoa over again with renewed interest.

Rinoa held her breath, afraid of what was coming. "If I may make a few guesses about you, Rinoa Heartily?"

Rinoa could only nod.

"You sometimes make things happen, though these things often seem impossible, and you don't understand how or why they happen." Edea turned from her desk as she spoke, grasping a crystal decanter of wine from the shelf behind her and filling two matching crystal goblets. "You make miraculous recovery from beatings and have a way with animals and even plants."

Rinoa took the offered wine and held it in her shaking hands. The goblet was quite beautiful, and looked out of place in the otherwise simple room. _How does she knew these things? _Rinoa wondered silently to herself.

"Have you heard the story of the first sorceress?" The abbess asked her. The word _sorceress_ seemed to echo around the room and through Rinoa's body to shake her core. She lifted the goblet to her lips and downed the sweet red liquid, hoping it would quell the nervous quivering in her stomach.. She replaced the glass gently on the table then met the older woman's eyes.

She nodded. _Yes. _"How do you know these things about me?" She, herself, had not known she was a sorceress until that night at the church over a year ago. She feared her powers, not flaunted them. Out of fear of her father or the things her mother told her about evil sorceresses.

The woman smiled, "Mortain has given you powerful gifts, child."

"So am I to stay here?" Rinoa really had nowhere else to go, and honestly the thought of having a purpose in life beyond marrying someone she didn't love and bearing children for the war with Esthar was already beginning to thrill through her. Her life now seemed to have _possibilities._

The abbess refilled both their wine glasses. "Here at the convent we are responsible for training the daughters of Mortain to carry out His work all across the lands."

Rinoa thought of all the stories she had heard over the years of Mortain and his Handmaidens of Death. They were female assassins of the most miraculous skill. They brought vengeance upon those who no longer deserved to live yet had not managed to realize it and die. They were supposed to be exactors of justice, and of mercy.

Though Rinoa had never actually heard of someone who had been killed by one of these handmaidens. Until her parents, of course.

It was still a difficult thing for her to swallow that her parents had both been traitors. Her father was fiercely loyal to the King of Galbadia and her mother was loyal to his money and the family wine cellar. And her piano.

The yellow eyes of the abbess seemed to bore strait through her, "He was not your father, child. For as surely as you are a sorceress, you are a daughter of Mortain!"

Rinoa turned the idea over in her mind. _Could it be true? Could that evil man who had tried to beat the magic out of her really not been her father? _Rinoa was surprised at the thrill of joy that coursed through her at the thought.

"I am a daughter of a God?" she asked in a a voice she was pleased to note didn't shake.

"Truly, child, and he has given you great powers to use in His service. So now you must train."

Rinoa's head was in a fog as she was led from the abbesses presence, and met by a young thin woman about Rinoa's own age. She was blond, with bright blue eyes and a sincere smile. She introduced herself as Quistis and told Rinoa about the classes they would be taking.

Rinoa, feeling terribly, and inexcusably filthy found the courage to ask Quistis if there was a place she could bath at this time of night. Quistis looked at her for a moment before she seemed to notice how dirty her newest sister was from the two days of travel.

"There is, follow me."

After she was clean, Rinoa felt like a whole new person. The old Rinoa was a person she had left behind in the estate of her family. She wondered what would happen to her mother, and was shocked that she had not so much as asked if she still lived.

But she was sure there would be time for questions later, as Quistis led them to their sleeping quarters.

As they walked, Rinoa tried to absorb everything the blond was saying. She was led into a room lined with at least a dozen beds. There were a few other girls who sat up to peer at the new girl questioningly. Rinoa wanted to introduce herself, but her companion beat her to it.

"Girls, this is Rinoa. She is a daughter of Mortain, like all of us, and we must make her feel welcome." Then she took to her own bed a few down from Rinoa's.

Rinoa pulled back her covers and snuggled in, surprised at how sleepy she was. There were a few murmured introductions as the girls went back to sleep.

All except for the girl in the bed right next to hers. She introduced herself as Selphie, and she had light brown hair cut very short and a mischievous pair of bright green eyes. The young girl tittered at Rinoa excitedly for a few minutes before they heard Quistis scold them and tell them to go to sleep.

Both girls giggled and then curled in to obey. Rinoa smiled to herself in the darkness, and for the first time in a very long time, she felt like she had something to look forward to.

* * *

Hurray! Another chapter up! Woot Woot! By the way, if anyone out there recognizes the twins Sanar and Ryelle, drop me a message in your review. The books those two came from are my absolute FAVORITES! Kudos to you who know who they are! (I dont own them either ^_^ Garth Nix does)

-Lupa


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